Brooklyn Tool & Craft Spots are machined aluminum bench dogs for the Festool MFT/3, designed to the highest level of precision. We knew our iteration of MFT dogs needed three elements: an unquestionably snug fit, bulletproof anodization, and a wider head (more on that later). Our Spots are machined within a tight tolerance to maintain a dead-on fit that is still easy to pop in and out of the standard 20mm holes. We even accounted for the dimensional variation that occurs during the anodization process. Our Spots have a military-grade, hard-coat anodized surface, which not only guarantees a long life with protection from marring, but also makes for smooth action and easy cleanup after glue or shellac operations.

We're particularly fond of the 40mm wide head on our Spots, which is crucial to the alignment of the track saw guide rail. We chose this diameter so that when using Spots during the guide rail setup, the cutting edge of the rail isn't dropped over the table holes. Using Festool should mean dust is kept to a minimum; we don't want our MFT spouting sawdust through the clamp holes on account of skinny dogs.

Spots are handy for removing any inaccurate wobble from the MFT miter gauge during setup, and can completely replace the miter gauge for quick 45° and 90° cuts. The heads are 8mm tall, with a 2mm relief just below to ensure the Spots sit flush to the table. The centers of our Spots are drilled out to 6.8mm with M8 x 1.25 threading, for use with Festool clamping knobs or any compatible bolt you have around the shop, whenever you plan on leaving in those Spots for a good while.

Nice design for accuracy

By: Randy Hermann (Apr, 2018)

Some other companies offer similar pieces which have a notch/flat surface included as part of the design. At first thought the flat is a great idea, and it does have some utility. The problem with the flat spot is the pieces are not perfectly machined from piece to piece. Using two or more to (try to) form a perfectly straight line, which is one of the benefits of the MFT hole system, doesn't work because they are off by a few thousandths each. These pieces appear to be identical CNC pieces so that variation is not an issue.